Freedman, Green, Flanagan, & Kaufman, 2020

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Psychology of Popular Media Culture Obituaries Can Popularize Science and Health: Stephen Hawking and Interest in Cosmology and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Gili Freedman, Melanie C. Green, Mary Flanagan, and Geoff Kaufman Online First Publication, March 14, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000233

CITATION Freedman, G., Green, M. C., Flanagan, M., & Kaufman, G. (2019, March 14). Obituaries Can Popularize Science and Health: Stephen Hawking and Interest in Cosmology and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis . Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000233 Psychology of Popular Media Culture

Obituaries Can Popularize Science and Health: Stephen Hawking and Interest in Cosmology and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Gili Freedman Melanie C. Green St. Mary’s College of Maryland University at Buffalo

Mary Flanagan Geoff Kaufman Dartmouth College Carnegie Mellon University

BA BA BA

Obituaries are an understudied form of popular media culture. Well-known scientists can inspire the general public to learn more about their field of study, and such exposure can occur posthumously through obituaries and related press coverage of a scientist’s passing. In the current studies, we examined the influence of physicist Stephen Hawking’s death on public interest in science topics related to his work. We also examined whether the representation of male versus female physicists quoted in the obituary increased perceptions of gender equity in science. Study 1 found that reading Hawking’s obituary increased interest in both physics and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but that the number of female physicists quoted did not affect interest levels. Study 2 showed that following Hawking’s death, there was a marked increase in Wikipedia page views on related topics in cosmology (but not necessarily other areas of physics) and on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Taken together, the present research shows the influence of obituaries on public attention, as well as the outsized influence that Hawking has had on public interest in science, even in death.

Public Policy Relevance Statement Celebrity scientists can play an important role in increasing public interest in science. The two studies presented here show that the death and the obituary of a famous physicist can increase interest in physics, specifically the area of physics the scientist studied.

Keywords: obituary, physics, celebrity scientist, Stephen Hawking, ALS

Public figures can inspire interest in both their fields and their kits (Allem et al., 2017). Similarly, searches for pancreatic cancer lives. In the domain of public health, celebrity deaths due to illness increased after Patrick Swayze’s diagnosis (Noar, Ribisl, Althouse, and illness disclosures have increased the public’s interest in the Willoughby, & Ayers, 2013), searches for cervical cancer and specific illness. For example, when Charlie Sheen disclosed his smear test increased after Jade Goody’s diagnosis and death (Met-

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its alliedHIV publishers. status, Internet searches for HIV increased (Ayers, Althouse, calfe, Price, & Powell, 2011), and searches related to breast cancer

This article is intended solely for the personal use ofDredze, the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Leas, & Noar, 2016) as did purchases of at-home HIV test increased after Angelina Jolie’s prophylactic mastectomy (Noar,

The data are available at https://osf.io/kp3ts/?view_onlyϭc478bce3014d4 Gili Freedman, Department of Psychology, St. Mary’s College of Maryland; aae860c47eaddcfce94 Melanie C. Green, Department of Communication, University at Buffalo; Mary The experiment materials are available at https://osf.io/kp3ts/?view_ Flanagan, Department of Film and Media Studies, Dartmouth College; Geoff onlyϭc478bce3014d4aae860c47eaddcfce94 Kaufman, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. The preregistered design and analysis plan is accessible at https://osf The authors gratefully acknowledge Danna Freedman for providing appro- .io/kp3ts/?view_onlyϭc478bce3014d4aae860c47eaddcfce94 priate comparison words in Study 2. This work was supported by the National Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Science Foundation [DRL-1420036 and 1462063]. Data, materials, and pre- Gili Freedman, Department of Psychology, St. Mary’s College of registration are available at https://osf.io/kp3ts/?view_onlyϭ2d2fddb9607c Maryland, 18952 East Fisher Road, St. Mary’s City, MD 20686. E-mail: 4627b8a89f84119b8b24 [email protected]

1 2 FREEDMAN, GREEN, FLANAGAN, AND KAUFMAN

Althouse, Ayers, Francis, & Ribisl, 2015). However, the effects of Obituaries also have emotional resonance because of the grief or the lives and deaths of celebrities likely extend beyond health sadness that accompanies the loss of a known or admired public topics. figure; they typically also mention the important relationships in the deceased person’s life, which can evoke more positive emo- Public Scientists tions or provide a sense of meaningfulness. Both narratives and emotional messages have been shown to capture audiences’ atten- Can the deaths of famous scientists have a similar effect beyond tion and potentially lead to change in attitudes and behaviors illness, to increase public interest in science? Furthermore, can (Bartsch, Kalch, & Oliver, 2014; Myrick & Oliver, 2015; Nabi & more subtle aspects of the portrayal of scientists within obituaries Green, 2015). Because of these qualities, obituaries may be par- have a broader influence on issues such as gender representation in ticularly well-positioned to encourage readers’ interest in topics science? Stephen Hawking, who died on March 14, 2018, was one related to the deceased person. of the most famous modern scientists and a pioneer in the field of Obituaries can provide valuable information for researchers; for cosmology (White & Gribbin, 2002). Hawking held an esteemed example, a famous analysis of over 1,000 obituaries showed a place not only in the world of cosmology but also in the public higher incidence of mental illness among artists compared with imagination, publishing scientific journal articles and books for the other professions (Ludwig, 1995). Although obituaries have also public (White & Gribbin, 2002), most famously, A Brief History of been studied for the types of values they convey (Alfano, Higgins, Time (Hawking, 1988). Beyond his many contributions to science, & Levernier, 2018), the views they present about particular career he also was an advocate for disability rights and brought amyo- paths (Tight, 2008), and whether individuals are willing to “speak trophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to the forefront (BBC News, 1999; ill of the dead” in response to obituaries (Rusu, 2017), their effect Hawking, 2017; Ruiz, 2018). Furthermore, the film The Theory of on public views of broader topics or issues has not received as Everything (Bevan, Fellner, Bruce, & McCarten, 2014) depicted much attention. One exception appears to be the influence of key events in Hawking’s personal and professional life and earned reporting celebrity suicides on suicide contagion, which suggests Eddie Redmayne an Academy Award for his portrayal of the that celebrity death reporting can have negative effects on vulner- scientist. able populations (Ma-Kellams, Baek, & Or, 2018). Scientists like Hawking, who are public science communicators Communication research suggests that one powerful function of in addition to being scientists, play an important role in the public the media is agenda-setting: Higher levels of media coverage for understanding of science. Since Goodell’s description of “visible an issue leads citizens to believe that this issue is more important scientists” (Goodell, 1977), researchers have been examining the (see McCombs, Shaw, & Weaver, 2014 or Wanta & Ghanem, role of scientists in the media more closely (Fahy, 2017). These 2007 for overviews). However, most agenda-setting research has scientists who have a prominent role in the media have the oppor- examined media trends over time, for example, considering the tunity to educate, inform, and shift opinions related to science and number or placement (e.g., front page) of stories on issues such as policy, though the effects are not always positive; at times, the the environment, the economy, or political scandals. The studies result of the communications about science is misinformation or reported in this article extend this research to examine whether an increased polarization (Johnson, Ecklund, Di, & Matthews, 2018; obituary can prompt increased public interest in topics beyond the Scheitle & Ecklund, 2017). particular person who has died. Although obituaries are typically Although Hawking appeared within popular media culture in a featured for only a limited period of time (a day or a few days), variety of ways during his lifetime, his death sparked a new round they may nonetheless draw attention to particular topics (such as of media coverage. Obituaries for Hawking told the story of his life scientific discoveries), and spark audiences’ interest in learning and his illness and highlighting his scientific ideas and his influ- more about those topics. ence on the field. These obituaries also included other scientists, Thus, our study draws on theories of narrative influence and either by quoting their views on Hawking and his contributions or agenda setting to propose that scientist obituaries may help inspire by describing their interactions with Hawking. Thus, the obituaries interest in topics related to the deceased person’s work. Specifi- had the potential to influence readers about the primary topic cally, the studies reported here investigated how the coverage of (Hawking’s life, his scientific contributions, and his illness), as Hawking’s death affected public interest in both cosmology and well as about more subtle issues (e.g., whether women scientists ALS. Study 1 used a pretest/posttest design to examine the effect This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its alliedwere publishers. represented among those quotes in the obituaries). of reading the New York Times obituary on Hawking on interest in This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Obituaries in Media Culture physics and ALS (as assessed by self-reported interest and by desire to read a related article), and Study 2 used real world data Obituaries are a unique type of media presentation that provide on Wikipedia page views to assess the relative impact of Hawk- an important opportunity to remind the public of individuals’ ing’s death on decisions to read more about cosmology and ALS. scientific contributions, as well as other aspects of their lives. Obituaries of public figures often receive prominent media cover- Gender, Science, and Obituaries age and are widely shared. Although obituaries for average individuals may be as simple as providing dates of birth and death or Given Hawking’s place in science and in the public’s perception names of family members, our focus here is on more elaborated: of physics, it is important to consider broader effects of the way feature-length obituaries written for public figures. These obituar- Hawking was memorialized. More subtle aspects of obituaries may ies provide narratives of individuals’ personal and professional also convey information about related topics. For example, differ- journeys, giving an opportunity for audiences to learn about a ent terms are often used to describe deceased male versus female public figure in more depth. leaders (Radtke, Hunter, & Stam, 2000; Rodler, Kirchler, & Hölzl, OBITUARIES AND SCIENCE INTEREST 3

2001). The New York Times obituary of rocket scientist Yvonne cists. In the published obituary, seven physicists were quoted, and Brill attracted controversy because it begin with her skill at cook- all seven of these physicists were men. In fact, the only women ing beef stroganoff rather than leading with her scientific accom- mentioned in the over 4,000-word obituary were Hawking’s wife, plishments (Roiphe, 2013). Even when the subject of the obituary ex-wife, and daughter. Therefore, the present research examined is male, men and women can be represented in the obituary as how readers (college students) respond to the obituary when all of collaborators, family members, or individuals selected to provide the quoted scientists are men versus when some of them are quotations about the personal or professional qualities of the women. individual. The selective quoting of men as experts is a common occurrence in the media (Desmond & Danilewicz, 2010; Freedman, Fico, & Study 1 Love, 2007; Kitzinger, Chimba, Williams, Haran, & Boyce, 2008), In Study 1, we examined the impact of reading an obituary of even in countries with high levels of gender equity (Niemi & Stephen Hawking on interest in physics and ALS. This study was Pitkänen, 2017). Despite the frequency at which men are quoted as preregistered at the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/kp3ts/ experts in the media, little is known about the effects of this gender ?view_only ϭ c478bce3014d4aae860c47eaddcfce94) and was de- gap on readers. Thus, as an additional research question, we signed to test how students respond to a scientist’s obituary when examined the effects of gender representation in a prominent either all seven of the scientists quoted are male or when three of obituary of Hawking. Specifically, in Study 1, we varied the the seven are female. Open Science Framework is a free, open- number of male and female physicists quoted in the article to see source platform that researchers can use to upload time-stamped if such representation affected perceptions of women’s participa- preregistrations and share their open materials and data to facilitate tion in science more broadly (e.g., the percentage of physicists who collaboration and increase reproducibility (The Center for Open are women and the likelihood of using a feminine rather than a Science, 2018). We hypothesized that reading the obituary would masculine pronoun when writing about a physicist). As an explor- increase interest in physics but that this increase would be partic- atory measure, we also examined whether these perceptions might ularly high for women who read the version of obituary in which extend to participants’ views of the climate for women in science, female scientists were quoted. We expected that the presence of technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM; e.g., women’s women scientists in the obituary might encourage interest among comfort and likelihood of success in STEM fields). women readers above and beyond learning about Hawking himself There are several reasons why having women quoted in a because it might provide an extra signal that women belong in science obituary might affect perceptions of women in science. physics. We did not have a priori predictions for interest in ALS. First, the mere presence of women scientists in popular media culture might affect individuals’ judgments about the frequency or acceptability of women in science, as suggested by cultivation Method theory (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, & Shanahan, 2002). Cultivation theory suggests that media presentations help shape Participants. A total of 284 students on Prolific Academic social reality. Similarly, work on media representation has high- participated. Of those, 54 failed at least one of the attention lighted the importance of showing members of social groups in checks and were excluded from analyses. This left an analytic nonstereotyped ways (Smith & Granados, 2009). Having women sample of 230 participants (134 male, 93 female, and three ϭ ϭ shown as part of the physics community, even if they are not the responding as either agender or nonbinary; Mage 24.66, SD main topic of the article, can provide important representation. 6.84; 5.7% African or African American, 23.0% Asian or Asian Research suggests that feelings of belongingness are an important American, 9.1% Hispanic/Latinx, .9% Native American, 56.1% factor in retaining women in science fields, and showing higher Caucasian, and 5.2% other or multiracial). In terms of year in numbers of women participating can increase that sense of belong- college, 13.5% were first-year students, 17.0% were second- ingness (Good, Rattan, & Dweck, 2012; Murphy, Steele, & Gross, year students, 19.6% were third-year students, 24.3% were 2007). fourth-year students, and 25.7% marked “other.” Those who In addition, including women scientists in the Hawking obituary marked “other” were graduate students, professional students, might have conferred additional legitimacy in two ways. First, or individuals just finishing or starting their academic studies. This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. scientists who were associated with Hawking might be seen as In all, 59% of participants indicated that they were majoring in This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. more qualified or eminent due to their connection with him. STEM. Second, the fact that the scientists were being interviewed by the Procedure. Participants completed a set of questionnaires New York Times may have also served as evidence of their status about their interest in physics, ALS, and religion (a control in the field. topic unrelated to Hawking), before and after reading one of two versions of an obituary for Stephen Hawking. The obituary was a shortened version of the one published on March 14, 2018 Overview in The New York Times. Half of the participants read the To test these ideas, we used a slightly modified version of the shortened obituary with no changes made, and the other half of obituary published in the New York Times, which was viewed by the participants read the shortened version with the names of over 1.5 million people (D. Overbye, personal communication, three of the quoted physicists (Michio Kaku, Andrew March 27, 2018). In this obituary, the author detailed Hawking’s Strominger, and Leonard Susskind) replaced with the names of scientific contributions and also his experience with ALS. A key three female physicists (Janna Levin, Lisa Randall, and Eva part of the obituary was quotations from other renowned physi- Silverstein). 4 FREEDMAN, GREEN, FLANAGAN, AND KAUFMAN

Measures ing indicates that the two obituary conditions were not perceived differently. Topic interest. Interest in physics, ALS, and religion was Topic interest. For the analyses, we excluded the three indi- assessed in two ways. First, participants completed a three-item viduals who responded with “other” to the gender question. To test measure for each topic in which they expressed their level of the hypothesis that reading the obituary with female physicists agreement ona1(strongly disagree)to7(strongly agree) scale quoted would increase interest in physics particularly for women, with the following statements: I am interested in learning about we ran a 2 (Gender) ϫ 2 (Condition) ϫ 2 (Time) mixed analysis [physics, ALS, religion], I am curious about [physics, ALS, reli- of variance (ANOVA), which found only a significant main effect gion], I would not enjoy learning about [physics, ALS, religion] 2 of time, F(1, 223) ϭ 36.39, p Ͻ .001, ␩p ϭ .14, such that (reverse-scored). Three composite measures were created by av- participants were more interested in physics after reading the eraging responses within the topic. Second, participants indicated obituary (M ϭ 5.20, SD ϭ 1.36) than before reading the obituary how interested they would be in reading the following: (a) a (M ϭ 4.80, SD ϭ 1.48). There was no main effect of gender, F(1, 500-word article about black holes, (b) a 500-word article about 2 223) ϭ .47, p ϭ .465, ␩p ϭ .002, condition, F(1, 223) ϭ .36, p ϭ degenerative diseases, and (c) a 500-word article about beliefs in 2 .548, ␩p ϭ .002, interaction between gender and condition, F(1, God. The two interest assessments were completed before and 2 223) ϭ .05, p ϭ .825, ␩p ϭ .000, interaction between time and after reading the obituary. 2 gender, F(1, 223) ϭ .79, p ϭ .375, ␩p ϭ .004, interaction between Women in physics. To assess whether reading the obituary 2 time and condition, F(1, 223) ϭ .21, p ϭ .648, ␩p ϭ .001, or changed beliefs about women in physics, participants completed interaction of time, gender, and condition, F(1, 223) ϭ .00, p ϭ two measures. The first measure was a written response to two 2 .999, ␩p ϭ .000. This finding was consistent with our expectation prompts, which were counterbalanced such that half of the partic- that reading the obituary would increase interest in physics but ipants received one prompt before the obituary and the other inconsistent with our prediction that there would be different prompt after, and the order was reversed for the other participants. effects based on gender. The two prompts were as follows: For interest in reading an article about black holes, a mixed ANOVA on gender, condition, and time found no significant main Dr. Smith is a physicist. Please write three or four sentences that describe a typical day for Dr. Smith. effects or interactions. There were no main effects of time, F(1, 2 222) ϭ .69, p ϭ .407, ␩p ϭ .003, gender, F(1, 222) ϭ 1.55, p ϭ 2 2 Dr. Jones is a physicist. Please write three or four sentences that .214, ␩p ϭ .007, or condition, F(1, 222) ϭ .50, p ϭ .480, ␩p ϭ describe a time when Dr. Jones went to a scientific meeting. .002. There were also no interactions between gender and condition, F(1, 222) ϭ .88, p ϭ .351, ␩2 ϭ .004, time and gender, F(1, The responses to these prompts were coded for the presence of p 222) ϭ 1,14, p ϭ .287, ␩2 ϭ .005, time and condition, F(1, 222) ϭ masculine and feminine pronouns. The use of feminine pronouns p .001, p ϭ .981, ␩2 ϭ .000, or time, condition, and gender, F(1, could indicate an implicit acceptance of women as physicists. The p 222) ϭ .59, p ϭ .444, ␩2 ϭ .003. second measure related to women in physics was the following p Women in physics. For perceptions of what percent of phys- question: What percent of physicists do you think are men? icists are men, a mixed ANOVA on gender, condition, and time Climate for women in STEM. As an exploratory measure, found a significant main effect of time, F(1, 223) ϭ 3.96, p ϭ perceptions of climate for women in STEM were assessed by 2 .048, ␩p ϭ .017, such that participants thought there were fewer asking participants to judge the likelihood that a woman in STEM male physicists after reading the obituary (M ϭ 71.52, SD ϭ would: (a) feel comfortable, (b) succeed, (c) be happy in her 12.75) than before reading the obituary (M ϭ 72.44, SD ϭ 11.72). career, and (d) experience instances of bias because of her gender Contrary to our hypotheses, there were no other main effects, (reverse-scored). These four items were averaged into a composite score. Quality checks. Finally, participants completed two attention Table 1 checks and one manipulation check. The attention check questions Hawking-Related Words and Comparison Words asked participants to identify the type of passage they read (book review, obituary, or textbook excerpt) and to identify where Ste- Number of This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its alliedphen publishers. Hawking was born (United States, Canada, or England). times This article is intended solely for the personal use ofParticipants the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. were only included in analyses if they correctly an- mentioned Nonobituary word Obituary word in obituary comparison swered both attention check questions. The manipulation check asked participants how many female physicists were quoted in the Black hole 38 Superconductor article ona0to7scale. Gravity 12 Entanglement Cosmology 5 Condensed matter physics Entropy 4 Laws of Thermodynamics Singularity 3 Quantum critical point Results String theory 3 Quantum Supremacy Manipulation check. Responses to the manipulation check Hawking radiation 3 Cooper pair Hubble space telescope 1 ARPES indicated no difference in the number of women physicists partic- Information paradox 1 EPR paradox ipants thought were quoted based on condition, t(225) ϭ .98, p ϭ General relativity 1 QED d ϭ M ϭ SD ϭ .330, .13 (male obituary 2.25, 2.76; male and Note. ARPES ϭ Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy; EPR par- female obituary M ϭ 2.59, SD ϭ 2.39), indicating that the two adox ϭ Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox; QED ϭ quantum electrody- obituary conditions were not perceived differently. The null find- namics. OBITUARIES AND SCIENCE INTEREST 5

2 gender: F(1, 223) ϭ .90, p ϭ .344, ␩p ϭ .004; condition: F(1, the second writing prompt, and 71.2% of participants in the male 2 223) ϭ .20, p ϭ .658, ␩p ϭ .001, and there were no interactions and female obituary condition using a masculine pronoun in the 2 (Gender ϫ Condition: F(1, 223) ϭ .25, p ϭ .615, ␩p ϭ .001; second writing prompt. 2 Gender ϫ Time: F(1, 223) ϭ .15, p ϭ .699, ␩p ϭ .001; Condi- 2 tion ϫ Time: F(1, 223) ϭ .29, p ϭ .591, ␩p ϭ .001; Gender ϫ 2 Exploratory Analyses Condition ϫ Time: F(1, 223) ϭ .33, p ϭ .565, ␩p ϭ .001). Finally, Condition did not impact pronouns used to describe a physicist in For perceptions of how positive the climate is for women in the writing prompt, ␹2(1) ϭ .13, p ϭ .721, with 68.9% of partic- STEM, a 2 (Condition) ϫ 2 (Gender) between-subjects ipants in the male obituary condition using a masculine pronoun in ANOVA found no main effects of condition, F(1, 223) ϭ .66, This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Figure 1. (a) Wikipedia page views for words related to Hawking’s obituary. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. (b) Wikipedia page views for comparison words. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. (c) Average number of Wikipedia page views for words related to the Hawking obituary and comparison words. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. See the online article for the color version of this figure. 6 FREEDMAN, GREEN, FLANAGAN, AND KAUFMAN

Figure. 1 (continued)

2 2 p ϭ .416, ␩p ϭ .003, gender, F(1, 223) ϭ 1.67, p ϭ .197, ␩p ϭ regardless of gender or condition. Because our first study showed 2 .007, or interaction, F(1, 223) ϭ .37, p ϭ .547, ␩p ϭ .002. stronger effects of the obituary on interest in science and ALS, Reading the obituary increased participants’ interest in physics, rather than gender effects, we chose to focus only on these interest ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ t(225) 3.42, p .001, d .22; M1 4.80, SD1 1.48; M2 effects in our second study. In addition, search history data pro- ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ 5.20; SD2 1.36, and ALS, t(225) 2.11, p .036, d .14; vided us with an opportunity to examine these effects outside of an ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ M1 4.64, SD1 1.41; M2 5.02; SD2 1.33, but did not experimental setting. In Study 2, we considered the real-world data ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ affect interest in religion, t(226) .27, p .788, d .02; M1 available on influence of Stephen Hawking’s death on interest in ϭ ϭ ϭ 4.45, SD1 1.67; M2 4.34; SD2 1.75. Furthermore, physics and ALS. Specifically, we examined Wikipedia page reading the obituary increased interest in reading an article views using Wikimedia’s page view tool: https://tools.wmflabs about degenerative diseases, t(225) ϭ 2.51, p ϭ .013, d ϭ .17; .org/pageviews/. Based on Study 1, we predicted that there would ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ M1 3.09, SD1 1.16; M2 3.23; SD2 1.19, but did not be increased interest for topics related to cosmology, Stephen affect interest in reading about black holes, t(225) ϭ .64, p ϭ Hawking’s field, and ALS, but not for other physics subfields or ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ ϭ .523, d .04; M1 3.59, SD1 1.12; M2 3.62; SD2 1.13 other diseases/disorders. ϭϪ ϭ ϭ ϭ or beliefs about God, t(226) 1.38, p .169, d .10; M1 ϭ ϭ ϭ 2.67, SD1 1.26; M2 2.61; SD2 1.29. Method Discussion Procedure. To examine the influence of Stephen Hawking’s This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. death on interest in physics, key words mentioned in the obituary

This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual userStudy and is not to be disseminated broadly. 1 results showed that the presence of female physicists in the Hawking obituary did not affect interest in physics. Based on the were compared with other physics terms, specifically physics failed manipulation check, it is likely that the differences between terms from condensed matter physics (Table 1). In addition, three conditions were too subtle. Readers were likely focused on Hawking famous scientists were mentioned in the obituary (Isaac Newton, himself and did not notice the gender of the individuals quoted. Albert Einstein, and Galileo Galilei), and the page views for those However, the predicted main effect of reading an obituary about were compared with three famous scientists not mentioned or Stephen Hawking was supported: Interest in physics increased after related to Hawking’s work (Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, and reading the obituary. Furthermore, exploratory analyses found that Nikola Tesla). We selected these scientists due to their high name interest in ALS also increased after reading the obituary. recognition; we wanted scientists in both conditions to be easily recognized by members of the general public. Furthermore, the Study 2 relative influence of Hawking’s death on page views to another highly publicized event related to science were examined: the Study 1 provided empirical evidence that reading Stephen Nobel Prize in Physics announcement in 2017 for the Laser Inter- Hawking’s obituary increased interest in both physics and ALS ferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project. To OBITUARIES AND SCIENCE INTEREST 7

examine the influence of Hawking’s death on interest in ALS, the Results number of page views for ALS were compared with other diseases with high page view counts: cancer, diabetes, HIV, measles, and As expected, terms closely related to Stephen Hawking’s work schizophrenia. (i.e., ones mentioned in the obituary) spiked on the day of his death This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Figure 2. (a) Wikipedia page views for scientists mentioned in the Hawking obituary. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. (b) Wikipedia page views for famous scientists not mentioned in the Hawking obituary. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. (c) Average number of Wikipedia page views for scientists mentioned in the Hawking obituary and scientists not mentioned. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. See the online article for the color version of this figure. 8 FREEDMAN, GREEN, FLANAGAN, AND KAUFMAN

Figure. 2 (continued)

(Figure 1a), whereas less closely related physics words did not Discussion show a similar spike (Figures 1b and 1c). In addition, page views of the famous scientists mentioned in the obituary increased on the Study 2 supported the findings from Study 1 that interest in day of Hawking’s death (Figure 2a), but there was no similar physics and ALS may have increased immediately following Ste- increase in page views for three other famous scientists (Figures 2b phen Hawking’s death. In addition, by examining specific page and 2c). Based on the number of page views on Wikipedia for views in Wikipedia, Study 2 was able to provide a more detailed related terms, Hawking’s death seems to have had a greater influ- picture of the public’s interest. Specifically, interest in terms ence on interest in physics than the LIGO discovery and subse- related to cosmology increased, whereas terms related to a differ- quent Nobel Prize, with 54,305 page views for Rainer Weiss and ent branch of physics did not. Similarly, interest in ALS increased 14,353 page views for LIGO on the day of the Nobel Prize without a concurrent increase in interest in diseases/disorders. announcement, and 7,126,234 page views for Stephen Hawking General Discussion and 52,667 page views for black holes on the day of Stephen Hawking’s death. Furthermore, there were 4,122 page views for Taken together, these studies suggest that obituaries of well- physics on the day of the Nobel Prize announcement and 7,938 known science figures can temporarily increase interest in specific page views for physics on the day of Stephen Hawking’s death. scientific topics. Specifically, Hawking’s death prompted Internet Finally, the number of page views decreases at a similar pace for searches for terms related to his research and prompted readers of Hawking’s death and the Nobel Prize announcement (Table 2). his obituary to report more interest in physics topics. In addition, As can be seen in Figure 3, there was a large increase in the the findings showed increased interest in ALS following Hawk-

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its alliednumber publishers. of page views for ALS but not for other commonly ing’s death, replicating work on public interest in celebrity health

This article is intended solely for the personal use ofresearched the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. diseases and disorders (Figure 3a). Before Hawking’s issues. death, ALS, cancer, diabetes, HIV, measles, and schizophrenia Contrary to our expectations, the number of women scientists were read about at similar rates (Figure 3b). quoted in the obituary did not affect perceptions of women in

Table 2 Daily Page Views as Percent of Page Views on the Peak Day

Search term Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8

Rainer Weiss 31.65 10.93 6.66 4.16 3.54 4.40 3.42 Hawking Radiation 37.74 15.84 11.03 9.33 7.78 5.83 5.08 Note. For Rainer Weiss, the peak (Day 1) used was the day of the Nobel Prize announcement. For Hawking Radiation, the peak (Day 1) used was the day of hawking’s death. OBITUARIES AND SCIENCE INTEREST 9 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Figure 3. (a) Wikipedia page views for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other highly searched diseases and disorders. The date of Hawking’s death is marked by the vertical black line. (b) Wikipedia page views for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other diseases/disorders prior to Hawking’s death. See the online article for the color version of this figure.

science. However, participants were also largely unable to accu- provides only names and brief descriptions (e.g., position or pro- rately report the ratio of male to female scientists represented, fessional affiliation) of people quoted. It is also possible that indicating that the manipulation may have been too subtle. How- because the obituary was about a famous male scientist, a few ever, our manipulation is typical of news reporting, which often quotes by women were not salient enough to cause an effect. 10 FREEDMAN, GREEN, FLANAGAN, AND KAUFMAN

Future research can manipulate the salience of women’s voices in New York Times to provide obituaries for women who have been an article. For example, examining the placement of quotes (i.e., overlooked (Padnani, 2018). For example, Ada Lovelace received Do they fall at the beginning, middle, or end of the article?), using a long overdue obituary in this series. Future research should pull quotes to emphasize particular quotations, and examining both consider the impact of these new obituaries on interest in the print and audio or video interviews would be ways to strengthen related fields (e.g., math and computer science for Lovelace) and the manipulation. Additional work is needed to determine which how men and women respond to these obituaries. forms of media representation are most effective in increasing Future studies could extend these findings by focusing on me- women’s interest in male-dominated STEM fields, such as phys- diators or moderators of the effect. For example, does a more ics. It will also be important to continue examining the impact of emotional obituary that focuses on the personal qualities of a science-related articles that quote only male scientists, as it is scientist create greater engagement? Do individuals need to feel a possible that readers may perceive certain fields as even more sense of connection with the deceased person, or is it more male-dominated than they actually are due to the gender-biased important to evoke curiosity about the scientific phenomenon they selection of experts. studied? It may be that different characteristics of obituaries create Because journalists seek out timely stories (e.g., breaking news different effects, and the effects may also change depending on the and the most up-to-date events), incremental scientific progress audience (e.g., audiences with high or low prior familiarity with may be less likely to gain news attention. However, this research the person, or high vs. low prior interest in science). suggests that obituaries of prominent scientists may be a valuable The current results highlight the potential of obituaries as a tool opportunity to increase public interest in science, even among for increasing public interest in science. To the extent that this audiences who would not normally seek out science-related con- interest translates to reading additional resources about these top- tent. Obituaries place science in a personal context, which may ics, obituaries may also indirectly increase scientific knowledge make science seem more accessible to a general audience member. and understanding among citizens. The interest sparked by an obituary may increase public knowledge on particular topics, such as cosmology, either by providing information within the obituary itself or motivating readers to seek References out additional information. 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